Mentally Ill Prisoners

Life Inside August 26

My Uncle Died the Day He Was Released From Jail. I’m Still Trying to Understand Why.

“Sudden cardiac death,” is the cause listed on my uncle Bryan’s death certificate. But it didn’t feel sudden at all — not when you factor in his underlying mental and physical health problems, years of poor prison medical care and the fact that he caught COVID-19 in his Arizona jail.

By Mia Armstrong

Death Sentences February 4

He’s Too Mentally Ill to Execute. Why Is He Still on Death Row After 45 Years?

Raymond Riles has been on death row longer than anyone in America. He’s one of many who have languished there for decades with severe mental illnesses.

By Keri Blakinger and Maurice Chammah

Case in Point June 6, 2019

Mentally Ill and Languishing in Jail

A Pennsylvania case illustrates a national problem: People with psychiatric illnesses often remain incarcerated while they wait for a hospital bed.

By Christie Thompson, Leila Miller and Manuel Villa

Feature November 27, 2018

Why Is Karl Taylor Dead?

Our prisons are our mental wards. One fatal case in New York shows where that can lead.

By Tom Robbins

Feature November 21, 2018

Treatment Denied: The Mental Health Crisis in Federal Prisons

The Bureau of Prisons set higher standards for psychiatric care. But instead of helping more inmates, the agency dropped thousands from its caseload, data shows.

By Christie Thompson and Taylor Elizabeth Eldridge